d. She had been sitting alone.

"It is not LATE, my boy, but it is as late as I usually sit up."

"Won't you go to bed, then?" he asked.

"And leave you two? No, my boy, I don't believe in it."

"Can't you trust us, mother?"

"Whether I can or not, I won't do it. You can stay till eleven if you
like, and I can read."

"Go to bed, Gyp," he said to his girl. "We won't keep mater waiting."

"Annie has left the candle burning, Lily," said Mrs. Morel; "I think you
will see."

"Yes, thank you. Good-night, Mrs. Morel."

William kissed his sweetheart at the foot of the stairs, and she went.
He returned to the kitchen.

"Can't you trust us, mother?" he repeated, rather offended.

"My boy, I tell you I don't BELIEVE in leaving two young things like you
alone downstairs when everyone else is in bed."

And he was forced to take this answer. He kissed his mother good-night.

At Easter he came over alone. And then he discussed his sweetheart
endlessly with his mother.

"You know, mother, when I'm away from her I don't care for her a bit. I
shouldn't care if I never saw her again. But, then, when I'm with her in
the evenings I am awfully fond of her."

"It's a queer sort of love to marry on," said Mrs. Morel, "if she holds
you no more than that!"

"It IS funny!" he exclaimed. It worried and perplexed him. "But
yet--there's so much between us now I couldn't give her up."

"You know best," said Mrs. Morel. "But if it is as you say, I wouldn't
call it LOVE--at any rate, it doesn't look much like it."

"Oh, I don't know, mother. She's an orphan, and--"

They never came to any sort of conclusion. He seemed puzzled and rather
fretted. She was rather reserved. All his strength and money went
in keeping this girl. He could scarcely afford to take his mother to
Nottingham when he came over.

Paul's wages had been raised at Christmas to ten shillings, to his great
joy. He was quite happy at Jordan's, but his health suffered from the
long hours and the confinement. His mother, to whom he became more and
more significant, thought how to help.

His half-day holiday was on Monday afternoon. On a Monday morning in
May, as the two sat alone at breakfast, she said:

"I think it will be a fine day."

He looked up in surprise. This meant something.

"You know Mr. Leivers has gone to live on a new farm. Well, he asked me
last week if I wouldn't go and see Mrs. Leivers, and I promised to bring
you on Monday if it's fine. Shal